Vicki Stiles honored for her 29 years of work with the Shoreline Historical Museum

SEATTLE, WA — The Association of King County Historical Organizations (AKCHO) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 40th Annual AKCHO Awards. The annual AKCHO Awards honor people, projects, and organizations who have done outstanding work to promote, preserve, and share history and heritage in King County.

“King County is full of amazing history and heritage workers,” said AKCHO President Hilary Pittenger, “and we are so pleased to be able to recognize the work our colleagues in the heritage field are doing to promote equity, justice, civic engagement, and pride of place through history work.”

The awards ceremony was held virtually on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Author and researcher John Falk, Executive Director of the Institute for Learning Innovation in Portland, was the keynote speaker at the awards ceremony, sharing insights from his lifetime of research into free-choice learning and visitor experience at museums. 

To learn more about the AKCHO Awards and past recipients, visit the AKCHO website at http://www.akcho.org/awards/ 

The AKCHO Awards are generously funded by 4Culture.

Vicki Stiles photo by Anina Sill

2022 AKCHO Award Recipients:

• Eugenia Woo is awarded the Willard Jue Memorial Award for Staff for her work as Director of Preservation Services at Historic Seattle.
• Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Ross Ishikawa, and Matt Sasaki are awarded the Virginia Marie Folkins Award for Outstanding Historical Publication for their graphic novel We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration.
• Kim Turner is awarded the Willard Jue Memorial Award for Volunteers for his work at the Queen Anne Historical Society.
• The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe Language Department is awarded the Heritage Education Award for the creation of the Muckleshoot Language apps and language video program.
• The Northwest Railway Museum is awarded the Long Term Project Award for “The Great Locomotive Swap” – a 20-year project in partnership with the Northern Railway Foundation in Nevada to trade and transport two locomotive engines, returning each to the state of their original use.
• Paul Dorpat is awarded the AKCHO Board Legacy Award for donating his lifetime collection of historical research, books, publications, and local ephemera relating to Seattle’s past to the Seattle Public Library.
• Seattle Theater Group is awarded the Excellence in Public Programming Award for the Centennial Celebration of the Neptune Theater in the University District.
• The Southwest Seattle Historical Society and the Duwamish Longhouse Museum and Cultural Center are awarded the Exhibit Award for their dual exhibit “Spirit Returns 2.0: A Duwamish and Settler Story.”
• The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway is awarded the Technology Award for its augmented reality app and public installation project collecting and sharing the stories and history of HIV/AIDS in our community.
• Victoria Stiles is awarded the AKCHO Board Award for her 29+ years of service as Executive Director of the Shoreline Historical Museum. She retired this year. Vicki also received this award in 2015 for her work with the museum.
• Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is awarded the Charles Payton Award for Heritage Advocacy for his office’s diligent work in stopping the unlawful sale of the National Archives facility in Seattle.

Since its founding in 1977, AKCHO has been a nexus for professionals and volunteers in the heritage and historic preservation field in King County. AKCHO works to support history, heritage, and historic preservation work throughout the county through advocacy, professional development, and providing a central network for information and resources for history doers of all kinds. AKCHO has promoted outstanding work in the King County heritage field with its annual AKCHO Awards since 1983.